Mineral Leases Denied in Boundary Waters

The U.S. Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture announced important steps to protect the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), a spectacular area in northeastern Minnesota comprised of more than a million acres of lakes and forests.

Citing broad concerns from thousands of public comments and input about potential impacts of mining on the wilderness area’s watershed, fish and wildlife, and the nearly $45 million recreation economy, the agencies took actions that denied an application for renewal of two hard rock mineral leases in the area, as well as initiated steps to withdraw key portions of the watershed from new mineral permits and leases.

“The Boundary Waters is a natural treasure, special to the 150,000 who canoe, fish, and recreate there each year, and is the economic life blood to local business that depend on a pristine natural resource,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “I have asked Interior to take a time out, conduct a careful environmental analysis and engage the public on whether future mining should be authorized on any federal land next door to the Boundary Waters.”

As the surface management agency, the Agriculture Department’s U.S. Forest Service has issued a decision withholding consent to the renewal of two mineral leases located on lands near the wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota. As a result of that decision, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is subsequently rejecting the renewal application, which was submitted by Twin Metals Minnesota in 2012.